Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures his Department is putting in place to ensure that invitations from his Department or the NHS to vaccination hubs do not overlap with the populations covered by (a) Primary Care Network-organised or (b) GP-led vaccination centres.

Nadhim Zahawi: Individuals in the cohort being vaccinated receive a letter which explains how they can book an appointment through either a vaccination Centre or a community pharmacy. The letter makes clear that people have the option to be vaccinated at a vaccination centre or community pharmacy, and if the distance to travel makes this difficult, they can have the vaccine at their local GP vaccination service.In some cases, the national and local invitations can overlap but it means individuals who receive invitations from both providers can choose based on what is most convenient for them.When people call the national booking service they are told the location of the vaccination centre and the date and time being offered before the booking is confirmed. The vaccination invite letter can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-booking-an-appointment-letter

Members: Correspondence

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Minister for covid-19 Vaccine Deployment responds to the letter of 15 December 2020 from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vulnerable Groups on the protection of vulnerable groups through the vaccination phase of the pandemic.

Nadhim Zahawi: I responded to the letter of 15 December 2020 from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vulnerable Groups on the protection of vulnerable groups through the vaccination phase of the pandemic on 10 February 2021.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of prioritising covid-19 vaccinations for the relatives of care home residents to enable those relatives to be able to resume visits to those residents.

Nadhim Zahawi: Although the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has not made an explicit consideration of including relatives of care homes residents, this does not prevent them visiting their loved ones. It is not a condition of visiting that the visitor or the resident should have been vaccinated. However, it is strongly recommended that all visitors and residents take up the opportunity to be vaccinated when they are invited to do so through the national programme.As part of the roadmap publication on 22 February, we confirmed that new visiting arrangements would start on 8 March. From then, every care home was asked to ensure that each resident can nominate one named person who can have regular, indoor visits.Those residents with the highest care needs can nominate an “Essential Care Giver”. These visitors will be able to visit more often in order to provide essential care. They will have the same testing and PPE arrangements as care home staff so that they can safely provide extra support, like help with washing and dressing or eating well. Of course, over time an increasing proportion of visitors will be vaccinated by virtue of their age or other factors such as being an unpaid carer.Guidance on care home visiting can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus/update-on-policies-for-visiting-arrangements-in-care-homes

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that covid-19 vaccination centres meet required health and safety standards.

Nadhim Zahawi: Vaccination sites must administer the vaccine in line with the best Infection Prevention Control (IPC) procedures including social distancing, ventilation and wearing masks.Large-scale centres are required to have an environmental risk assessment in place which is expected to cover requirements for ventilation in a pandemic when transmission and virus shedding is a significant concern.The vaccination process, from the National Booking System to the structure and delivery in the vaccination sites, has been designed to ensure a steady throughput of people to avoid bottlenecks and overcrowding.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will prioritise the covid-19 vaccination of people living in the same household as people with blood cancer in the latter stages.

Nadhim Zahawi: A recent assessment by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) found that early data indicates lower protection in vaccinated adults who are immunosuppressed, including those with blood cancer. Those with severe immunosuppression are therefore more likely to suffer poor outcomes following infection and are less likely to benefit from the vaccines offered.On 29 March 2021, the JCVI advised that household contacts of the immunosuppressed (such as those with blood cancer) should be offered a COVID-19 vaccination alongside priority group 6 in Phase 1. NHS England and Improvement will now vaccinate these household contacts in priority group 6.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason a volunteer covid-19 vaccinator is required to have two A-levels.

Nadhim Zahawi: There is no specific requirement for a volunteer COVID-19 vaccinator to have two A-levels. Prospective volunteer COVID-19 vaccinators will have a competency assessment to ensure they can safely administer vaccines to patients under the clinical supervision of an experienced health care professional, and they will undergo relevant clinical training and supervision, put together by NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will prioritise (a) bus, (b) train and (c) taxi drivers for receipt of the covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: For Phase 2 of the COVID 19 vaccination programme, JCVI published its interim advice on 26 February, setting out that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age, rather than by occupation. This is because age is assessed to be the strongest factor linked to mortality, morbidity and hospitalisations, and because the speed of delivery is crucial as we provide more people with protection from COVID-19.If bus, train or taxi drivers are captured in Phase 1 or 2 due to age or clinical need, then they will be vaccinated accordingly. However, there are currently no plans to vaccinate by occupation.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to include staff working in (a) nursery schools and (b) other early year providers in the same priority category as primary and secondary school teachers for the covid-19 vaccine.

Nadhim Zahawi: Staff working in nursery schools or in other early years roles, like teachers in primary and secondary schools, will be offered their vaccinations alongside other adults of the same age, or earlier if they have underlying health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. They are not currently being prioritised because of their occupation alone.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent body made up of scientific and clinical experts who advise Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2020 to Question 124263, on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what dataset his Department is using to identify unpaid carers in order to offer them a covid-19 vaccination.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for unpaid carers was published on 8 March. It outlines the numbers of existing sources that will be drawn from to identify unpaid carers. They are:- those in receipt of or entitled to a carer’s allowance;- those known to GPs who have a ‘carer’s flag’ on their primary care record;- those known to Local Authorities who are in receipt of support following a carer’s assessment; and- those known to local carers organisations to be actively receiving care and support. The SOP is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/sop-covid-19-vaccine-deployment-programme-unpaid-carers-jcvi-priority-cohort-6/

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of prioritising kinship carers in the covid-19 vaccination programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Imuunisation (JCVI) have advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, to those aged 50 and above, in order of age and clinical risk factors, and those with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.Unpaid carers, including kinship carers, who are the sole or primary carer of an elderly or disabled person who is at increased risk of COVID-19 mortality and therefore clinically vulnerable, are included in the JCVI’s priority group 6 for phase 1 of the rollout.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that covid-19 vaccines are accessible for people with mental health issues.

Nadhim Zahawi: The National Health Service, alongside local health and social care partners have been working to ensure that the entire population has fair and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, including those with mental health issues. To enable this, three delivery models are currently in operation across the United Kingdom to allow people to visit a site most appropriate to their needs. They include hospital hubs, local vaccination services and vaccination centres. This flexibility ensures an accessible model for all. Local Vaccination Services for example are well placed to support the specific needs of our highest risk patients in the community and can tailor support to an individual’s needs. This links closely with a key element set out in the COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake plan - to build trust. To help build trust NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England have been working with Rethink Mental Illness to understand barriers, and common causes of concern faced by people living with severe mental illnesses. They are using these insights to develop and promote targeted communications materials to help respond to and reassure these communities. Top tips for vaccinators have also been developed to support people living with learning disabilities and autism to access COVID-19 vaccinations when it is their turn.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the length of time between provision of first and second covid-19 vaccine doses to people deemed to be clinically immunocompromised.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advise Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation, based on their assessments.Recent assessment of the data available shows that the first dose of both vaccines currently deployed provides substantial protection within 2-3 weeks of vaccination from severe COVID-19 disease. The second vaccine dose is important to sustain the protection and extend its duration. In the short term however, the additional impact of the second dose is likely to be modest and most of the initial protection from clinical disease is after the first dose of vaccine. The four UK Chief Medical Officers agreed with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that prioritising the first doses of vaccine for as many people as possible on the priority list would protect the greatest number of at-risk people in the shortest possible time.There are currently no plans to reduce the length of time between the provision of first and second COVID-19 doses for people deemed to be clinically immunocompromised.The JCVI will continually monitor and assess vaccine effectiveness, including the protection afforded to specific patient groups, such as immunocompromised people, on an ongoing basis. If new evidence comes to light, the JCVI will review their policy to help better protect those most at risk of COVID-19 in the UK.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of covid-19 vaccination centres required for every (a) local authority and (b) 100,000 population.

Nadhim Zahawi: Estimations for the number of vaccination centres required is based on a number of factors and not geographical location or relative population alone. The network of vaccination sites has been designed to scale up and fit the expected vaccine supply, resident priority populations at relevant deployment stage and to and ensure safe and easy access for the whole population.   The programme aims to offer everyone in England a vaccine service within 10 miles, and currently this is applicable for more than 98% of the population. In a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccination centre will be a mobile unit. In England, latest published data from 26 March shows that a total of 1,763 vaccination sites have now been established.The network will continue to expand and evolve as we progress towards vaccinating all adults by the end of July. Further information on vaccine sites in England can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/vaccination-sites/

Prisons: Coronavirus

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prisoners are eligible for the covid-19 vaccine; and how many (a) prisoners in JCVI priority groups (i) 1-4 and (ii) 5-9 and (b) prison staff have received the first dosage of the covid-19 vaccine in England and Wales.

Nadhim Zahawi: No specific data is centrally held regarding the number of prisoners who are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination in the first phase of the programme. We do not centrally hold data on how many prisoners have been vaccinated in priority groups 1-9 so far.We cannot provide information on the numbers of prison staff eligible for vaccination or vaccinated as data is not collected on vaccinations delivered broken down by occupation. NHS England publishes daily and weekly data on overall numbers of vaccinations in England, including those who have received a 1st and 2nd dose. This is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/

Coronavirus: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons covid-19 vaccine appointments are being cancelled in the Easington constituency.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are unaware of any specific local issues in Easington regarding vaccine appointments, although it is recognised that something the size of the National Health Service vaccination programme will inevitably experience occasional logistical challenges.

Coronavirus: Screening and Vaccination

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including shop workers providing essential services in the priority group for covid-19 vaccination and testing.

Nadhim Zahawi: Shop workers providing essential services will be offered their vaccinations alongside other adults of the same age, or earlier if they have underlying health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. They are not currently being prioritised because of their occupation alone, as age is assessed to be the strongest factor linked to mortality, morbidity and hospitalisations, and because the speed of delivery is crucial as we provide more people with protection from COVID-19.For the first phase, the Government decided, based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice, that the vaccine first be given to 9 identified priority groups. The two highest priority groups were care home residents and staff followed by frontline health and social care workers and everyone aged over 80. Frontline health and social care workers are prioritised in the first phase because they are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection but also of transmitting that infection to multiple persons who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 as well as to other staff in a healthcare environment. The remaining 7 priority groups in the first phase include all those identified at either higher clinical risk or clinically extremely vulnerable, unpaid carers, and anyone not included in those groups but aged 50 or above. Everyone aged over 50 is included even where the individual has no other risk factors because serious outcomes from COVID-19 are strongly age related.For Phase 2 of the COVID 19 vaccination programme, the JCVI published its interim advice on 26 February setting out that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age, rather than by occupation. This advice can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jcvi-issues-interim-advice-on-phase-2-of-covid-19-vaccination-programme-rollout

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department working with scientists to communicate the safety and effectiveness of the covid-19 vaccines.

Nadhim Zahawi: The voices of scientists and researchers are an important part of the communications activity undertaken by the Department and wider Government to reassure the public about vaccines and ensure that people have access to accurate information. The Department and its partners work closely with stakeholders from the scientific community and provides regular updates to stakeholders on the vaccine programme, to support them with their own communications about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. Public Health England has also produced a range of ‘explainer videos’ presented by scientific leaders and experts, including those involved in vaccine development and the vaccine deployment programme. The videos can be viewed at the following link: https://coronavirusresources.phe.gov.uk/covid-19-vaccine/resources/ The Government has also worked extensively with organisations such as the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and vaccine manufacturers and developers to highlight their work on vaccine safety and efficacy. This includes, for example, the ABPI’s Valuing Vaccines campaign, and direct collaboration with manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and Valneva, as well as work with Wockhardt to highlight safety of the fill/finish aspects of vaccine manufacture. More information the Valuing Vaccines Campaign can be found at the following link: https://www.valuingvaccines.org.uk

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will publish the modelling used to determine initial vaccination targets.

Nadhim Zahawi: Commercial confidentiality means that we cannot release any information on modelling that has been used by the Government, as that is contingent on sensitive supply information.The Government’s priority for the current COVID-19 vaccination programme is the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Our prioritisation strategy for the vaccine roll-out has allowed us to protect the most vulnerable in society as quickly as possible. These aims, coupled with the capacity of NHS England and NHS Improvement to deploy vaccines has allowed initial vaccine targets to be set. By 15 February we had successfully offered a first vaccine dose to everyone in the top four priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and are on track to meet the mid-April target of offering a first vaccine dose to the top nine priority groups.

Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to collect comprehensive data on the number of (a) covid-19 tests taken, (b) positive covid-19 test results, (c) covid-19 vaccinations and (d) deaths from covid-19 among Black, Asian and ethnic minorities on a (i) national and (ii) regional level.

Nadhim Zahawi: Public Health England publish data on people testing positive for COVID-19 by ethnicity at the national level in their surveillance reports, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reportsNHS England and NHS Imprvement publish weekly data on COVID-19 vaccinations, including vaccinations by ethnicity at a national and regional level, which can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/NHS England and NHS Improvement also publish weekly data on the deaths of patients who have died in hospitals in England and tested positive for COVID-19. This contains breakdowns by ethnicity and can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-daily-deaths/weekly-total-archive/Data on the number of Covid-19 tests taken by people who are Black, Asian or from minority ethnic backgrounds at national and regional level is not centrally held.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who have been offered a covid-19 vaccine have refused the vaccine in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) England.

Nadhim Zahawi: Information on those who have refused a COVID-19 vaccine is not centrally collected at national or regional level.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of where frontline charity staff that provide fact to face support for people affected by dementia will be categorised on the covid-19 vaccine priority list.

Nadhim Zahawi: Front line health and social care staff including those providing support to those affected by dementia are in priority group 2. Whether an individual health or social care worker provides support on behalf of a charity, the National Health Service, social care or is employed by the private sector is not taken into account when prioritisation is considered. Carers, paid or unpaid, are being vaccinated alongside priority group 6. This include those caring for those affected by dementia. Outside these two categories those providing support for people with dementia would only be prioritised for vaccination in Phase 1 of the programme if they met the criteria for one of the priority groups on the basis of their own risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. This might be either on grounds of age or clinical risk.